Not happy with your care home? : A guide to Elderly Care

Most people are happy with their care home but if problems do arise then they will need to be resolved as soon as possible.

Informal chat

If you are unhappy about a certain aspect of your care or the type of care your parent/relative is receiving then speak to a member of staff at the home. Another option is to speak to the manager of the care home.

You can ask a friend, relative, charity (such as Help the Aged) or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help you when making a complaint.

In most cases, an informal chat will clear up the problem in question.

Many people are afraid to complain, feeling that this will cause problems for them or for their relative in the home -if they are a carer. But this shouldn’t be a problem in a caring, well run home.

If you are bothered about this and have care arranged via your social services department then speak to them. They are responsible for your care and to ensure that it is suitable for your needs.

Social services will have a complaints procedure which must be made available to you with information and advice on how to complain.

Formal complaint

If you are not satisfied with this then you have the option of making a formal complaint. Your care home should have a complaints procedure in place which will have been explained previously. This outlines how you or someone acting on your behalf can make a complaint.

If this doesn’t resolve things then you can contact the Care Quality Commission. They are an official body responsible for the regulation of care homes. They carry out frequent inspections to ensure that each home provides a good level of care.

They also expect each home to meet national minimum standards in the following areas:

• Personal care
• Healthy and Safety
• Quality of the home, its furnishings and fittings
• Access to employment and education
• Access to facilities

A care home will only be registered if it meets the national minimum standard in all these areas (source: Directgov).

If you are not comfortable with the thought of complaining to your care home manager then contact the Care Quality Commission. Approach them whether your complaint is about a local authority home or a home within the independent sector.

For more information visit the Care Quality Commission website.

The rules may differ in other parts of the UK so approach the organisation responsible for care home regulation in that part of the country.

For residents of Scotland: The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

For residents of Wales:

The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales

For residents in Northern Ireland:

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority